A bilge pump is an apparatus used to remove bilge water and other fluid that accumulates in a bilge or vessel of a boat. Bilge pumps are integral to boats in order to avoid accumulating water and sinking. For instance, during the operation of the boat, the bounce of the hull in the water causes water spray to accumulate in the bilge. In addition, water and fluid regularly accumulates in the boat when docked at a boat slip because of, for example, rain, leaks in the hull, and leaks in the engine and/or gas tank. In many instances, if the water is not removed, the water will continue to accumulate until the boat eventually sinks, either while in operation, or while docked at the slip.
In order to facilitate operation of the bilge pump, detection members, such as float switches, probes, or other sensors, are used to detect a threshold level of water accumulation in the vessel. To date, prior art has adopted the approach, as shown in U.S. Patent Publication 2012/0006111, that implements a microprocessor that can be programmed to provide delays for pump turn-on and turn-off when the microprocessor has at least 256 consecutive reads over a 0.286 second time interval. Typically, the prior art has attempted to prevent over cycling of the bilge pump by instituting this consecutive read operation by a microprocessor. It has been found that there are several disadvantages to merely relying on consecutively reading active signals without adjustment. For example, the vessel may include a significant amount of fluid and yet the signal does not remain active because of the sloshing of the fluid and rocking of the boat caused by water current, waves and wind conditions.
The prior art applies various systems and methods for preventing false triggers of water level sensors. During periods of non-use, the boat is secured to the boat slip, which experiences side-to-side rocking and results in fluid sloshing from side-to-side. This side-to-side action causes the sensors, such as a float switch, to turn-on the bilge pump. As a result, various systems have implemented time delays and other methods to prevent continuously turning on the bilge pump before a threshold amount of fluid is contained in the boat hull. However, the combination of fluid slosh, and the evacuation of some fluid through the bilge pump hose by activating the bilge pump, causes prior systems to believe that sufficient water has been evacuated, when in fact it has not. For example, as the boat tilts causing the water to slosh up the inner side wall of the sea vessel, the fluid level sensor may indicate a low water level. For further example, the float switch may drop entirely to the bottom. Thus, the prior systems falsely believe that sufficient fluid has been removed from the vessel, when in fact a significant amount of fluid remains in the vessel. The bilge pump will turn off as a result of both evacuating a portion of the fluid through the bilge pump hose and the side-to-side sloshing of the fluid.
When the bilge pump is turned off, head pressure in the hose is lost which causes the fluid in the bilge hose to drain back into the vessel. One problem results when the fluid in the bilge pump hose drains back into the vessel. Namely, it raises the fluid level in the bilge causing the sensors to again activate the bilge pump. However, because of the slosh of fluid, the pump is immediately shut off either because, by way of example, a float which drops or the bilge pump is spinning in the air causing the current through the bilge pump to drop below a preset threshold current value. Once again the fluid in the bilge pump hose drains back into the vessel. That cycle continues until the battery dies, which puts the boat at risk of sinking. Or alternatively, the sea vessel is connected to an AC power supply, which causes the system to continuously run and waste a significant amount of energy. Furthermore, over running the system causes failures to the bilge pump and sensors. Such failures may include burning out the contacts on a mechanical based sensor, as well as wear and tear on the components.
In addition, the prior art does not disclose a system that actively learns bilge pump run time requirements in order to be integrated with any bilge pump system on any boat or vessel. This new system is also particularly advantageous to prevent both over running and under running of the bilge pump. For example, if the instant system merely measured current draw of the bilge pump to determine whether the bilge is pumping fluid or spinning air, the bilge pump would turn off early because, as the fluid sloshes and/or the boat rocks side-to-side, the bilge pump would spin air despite a significant amount of fluid contained in the boat or vessel.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new bilge pump system that overcomes the problems caused by both over running and under running the bilge pump. There is further a need for a control unit that is adaptable to work with any sized boat and bilge pump, whether implemented either alone or in parallel with an existing system.